An example of a typical print management technique is “pull printing” in which a printer outputs images based on document information obtained directly from a server without using a host system.
A typical printing system performing pull printing includes an image forming apparatus, a management server that manages users of the image forming apparatus, and a print data transmission apparatus that transmits, to the management server, print data for printing performed by the image forming apparatus in association with specified users. The image forming apparatus of the printing system includes an authentication request unit that sends the management server a request for authentication of a user, and a print execution unit that performs printing based on print data transmitted from the management server. The management server of the printing system includes a print data management unit that manages print data transmitted from the print data transmission apparatus, an authentication execution unit that performs authentication of the user based on the request for authentication, and a print data transmission unit that transmits, to an image forming apparatus that requested the authentication, print data that is included in the print data managed by the print data management unit and that is associated with the user who has been successfully authenticated by the authentication execution unit.
In this printing system, after the user who wants to perform pull printing has sent a request for authentication from the image forming apparatus to the management server and has been successfully authenticated by the management server, the image forming apparatus prints based on print data that is managed by the management server and that is associated with the user who has been successfully authenticated by the management server. Hence, the likelihood of someone else taking the printed output is decreased.
Further, when the user performs pull printing in this printing system, printing is performed at any image forming apparatus from among a plurality of image forming apparatuses included in this printing system. For example, the user who wants to perform pull printing can cause pull printing be performed at any image forming apparatus that is not being used by other users. A user who performs pull printing can cause pull printing be performed at image forming apparatuses that do not have a paper jam or a shortage of expendable supplies from among the plurality of image forming apparatuses included in the printing system.
However, in the printing system described above, when the print data transmitted from the management server to an image forming apparatus is not supported by the image forming apparatus, the image data is not processed properly in the image forming apparatus. Hence, in some cases, printing may not be performed or a desired print result may not be obtained.